©2020/2021 David E. Robinson www.asearchformessiah.net, At the Gates of Yerushalayim Ministries
A Special series:
Lessons from the Wilderness, Volume 27
…A Study in Revelation… Part 5
A Search for the Truth at the end of the Age
αποκαλυψις ιησου χριστου
(The Revelation of Yeshua the Messiah)
of Yeshua the Messiah to Yochanan (John)
1 1 This is
the revelation which God gave to Yeshua the Messiah, so that he could show his
servants what must happen very soon. He communicated it by sending his angel to
his servant Yochanan, 2 who bore witness to the Word of
God and to the testimony of Yeshua the Messiah, as much as he saw. 3 Blessed
are the reader and hearers of the words of this prophecy, provided they obey
the things written in it! For the time is near!
4 From: Yochanan
To: The seven Messianic
communities in the province of Asia:
Grace and shalom to you from the One who is, who was and who is coming; from
the sevenfold Spirit before his throne; 5 and from Yeshua the
Messiah, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the
earth’s kings. To him, the one who loves us, who has freed us from our sins at
the cost of his blood, 6 who has caused us to be a kingdom,
that is, cohanim for God, his
Father—to him be the glory and the rulership forever and ever. Amen.
7 Look! He is coming with the clouds! a Every eye will see him, including those who pierced him; and all the tribes of the Land will mourn him. b Yes! Amen! 8 “I am the ‘A’ and the ‘Z,’ ”[1] says Adonai, God of heaven’s armies, the One who is, who was and who is coming. [2]
- Two: Used
in the sense of “a few” in Num. ix. 22; I Sam. xi. 11; Hos. vi. 2; Ned.
66b
- Three: The
sacredness of this number is probably due to the fact that primitive man
divided the universe into three regions—heaven, earth, and water,
respectively represented in Babylonian mythology by the divinities Anu,
Bel, and Ea. Its sacred or symbolical use may be illustrated by such
passages as I Kings xvii. 21; I Chron. xxi. 12; Dan. vi. 10. Its
rhetorical use for a small total is illustrated in Gen. xxx. 36; xl. 10,
12; xlii. 17; Ex. ii. 2, iii. 18, and in Pes. 62b and Yer. Ta‘an. iv. 8.
Multiples of three are similarly used: nine, in Yer. Ta‘an. iv. 8; twenty-one, in Ethiopic Enoch, lxix. 2; thirty, in Slavonic Enoch, xxxvi. 1; thirty-six, in Ethiopic Enoch, xc. 1; three hundred, in Sotah 34a; Pes. 62b; Hul. 59b, 90b; Yer.
Sanh. vii. 19; Yer. Ta‘an. iv. 8; nine
hundred, in Yer. Sanh. vii. 19.
- Three and one-half: Represents, according to Gunkel (“Schöpfung und Chaos,” pp. 309 et seq.), the three and one-half
months from the middle of Kislew to the end of Adar—from the winter
solstice to the festival of Marduk, the period of the supremacy of Tiamat.
The number occurs in Dan. vii. 25, ix. 27, and xii. 7 (Hebr.). In
traditional literature three and one-half as a half of seven is frequently
used as a round number; see Midrash to Proverbs…
- Four: Sacred as the number of the four
cardinal points of the compass; denotes completeness and sufficiency. In
cabalistic literature its sacredness is enhanced by the fact that the
Tetragrammaton contains four letters. The number is found in Gen. ii. 10;
Judges xi. 40; Jer. xv. 3; Ezek. xiv. 21; Zech. 18; Neh. vi. 4; etc. The
multiples of four used are twenty-eight
(in the measurement of the curtains of the Tabernacle) and forty and its multiples.
- Seven: The most sacred number. The origin of its sacredness
is found by some in its factors three and four; by others, in its
correspondence to the number of the planets(Author’s note: This entry was
written in the early 1900’s, hence only 7 planets had been discovered);
while others assert that it arose from a sacred six by the addition of
one. In Judaism its sacredness was enhanced by the institution of the
Sabbath. The number occurs in the seven days of Creation, the institution
of the seventh year of release, the forty-nine years between the jubilees,
the seven altars, the seven lamps, the sprinkling of the blood seven
times, etc. (Gen. vii. 2 et seq.,
xxi. 28–30; I Kings xviii. 43; Deut. xvi. 9; Ezek. xl. 22, xli. 3; et al.)… The multiple fourteen occurs in Proverbs Rabbah (ed. Buber, p. 92).
- Ten: Had a symbolical character in part because it is the basis of the decimal system, and in part because it is the sum of three and seven. Its simplest use is as a round number (Gen. xxiv. 10, 22; Josh. xxii. 14; Judges xvii. 10; et al.; comp. Lampronti, l.c. s.v. äøùò). A more sacred use is found in the ritual (Ex. xxvi. 1, 16; Num. vii., xxviii., xxix.; I Kings vi., vii.; Ezek. xlv.; II Chron. iv.). Because of this sacred character “ten” is used in apocalyptic symbolism (Dan. vii. 7, 20, 24). Multiples of ten are used as round numbers: one hundred and two hundred, in Pes. 64b; et al.; one thousand, in Hul., 97b; Ned. 50b; Yer. Ta‘an. iv. 8; ten thousand and two hundred thousand, in Yer. Ta‘an. iv. 8; one million, in Yoma 33b.
- Twelve: Derived
its sacred character from the fact that it is the product of three and
four and is the number of the months of the year. There are twelve tribes
of Israel and the same number of tribes of Ishmael (Gen. xvii. 20, xxv.
16). The number of many representative men and things was made twelve to
accord with the number of the tribes (Ex. xxiv. 4; Num. xvii. 2, 6; Josh.
iv.; et al.). The number twelve
for these reasons entered into Hebrew ritual (comp. Ex. xv. 27; Num.
xxxiii. 9; Lev. xxiv. 5; Jer. lii. 20 et
seq.; Ezek. xliii. 16). As a round number twelve occurs both in Biblical
(II Sam. ii. 15; I Kings x. 20) and in post-Biblical literature (see the
list of references given by Zunz, “Literaturgesch.” p. 601; comp. also
Yoma 75b, 77b; Ta‘an. 25a; M. K. 24a; Hul. 95). The multiple twenty-four occurs in Lam. R. i.
2; twenty-four millions, in
Ned. 50b.
- Twenty-two: Used
as a round number in later literature (Gen. R. lxxiii.; Midr. Shemuel
xx.), deriving its significance
from the fact that it is the number of the letters in the alphabet (comp.
Bacher, “Ag. Pal. Amor.” ii. 397).
- Forty: Stands
in the Bible for a generation (e.g., the forty years of wandering in
the desert), hence for any period of time the exact duration of which is
unknown (comp. Gen. vii. 4, 12, 17; viii. 6; Ex. xxiv. 18, xxxiv. 28;
Deut. ix. 9, 11, 18; x. 10; I Sam. xvii. 16; I Kings xix. 8; Jonah iii.
4). In later literature forty is commonly used as a round number (comp. Git.
39b, 40a; Sotah 34a; Yer. Ta‘an. iv. 8; et al.). The multiple eighty
is found in Yer. Ta‘an. iv. 8; four
hundred, in Hul. 59b and Bek. 31a; four hundred and eighty, in I Kings vi. 1 and Yer. Meg. iii.
1; eighty thousand, in Yer.
Ta‘an. iv. 8.
- Sixty: The
larger unit of the sexagesimal system; used to express an indefinitely
larger number (comp. Cant. iii. 7, vi. 8). In Talmudic literature it is
frequently used as a round number (comp. Ber. 57b; Pes. 94a; B. K. 92a; B.
M. 30b, 107b; Ta‘an. 10a; Ned. 39b; Midr. Teh. xli.; Lev. R. xxxiv.;
etc.). In the Halakah a thing ritually unfit becomes fit when mixed with
something sixty times its own amount.
- Seventy: Has
a sacred or symbolical significance because it is made up of the factors
seven and ten (comp. Ex. xv. 27; xxiv. 1, 9; Num. xi. 24 et seq.; Gen. xlvi. 27; Ex. i. 1;
Deut. x. 22; Jer. xii. 11; Dan. ix. 24 et
seq.). For later Jewish usage compare S. Krauss in Stade’s
“Zeitschrift,” xix. 1–14, xx. 38–43, and Steinschneider in “Z. D. M. G.”
iv. 145–170; lvii. 474–507, where he deals also with the number seventy-two.
Revelation 1:4 (NABWRNT)
4 †
John, to the seven churches in Asia: † †grace to you and peace
from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits
before his throne, [6]
“…Tertullian and Epiphanius say that there
was no ecclesia in Thyatira when John wrote these letters. On this ground many
rejected this prophecy in early times. There is no difficulty in this if we
recognize the fact that, in spirit, John was transported into the day of
Jehovah. Then there will be an ecclesia in Thyatira which will correspond
perfectly with the epistle addressed to it…”[8]
Acts 17:11 (KJV)
11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they
received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily,
whether those things were so.[9]
Figure 5. Map of Apostle Paul's
Third Journey Compliments of Gordon Smith http://www.ccel.org/bible/phillips/JBPhillips.htm
In any study of Revelation, much is made of the particular choice of these seven ekklesias. The questions we would pose upon Scripture, the 5 W’s and H, have bothered the commentators throughout the ages. “Why these churches? What is their significance? Who led them? When were they established? Where is the evidence of their downfall or success? How does this all relate?” and many more like questions have been pushed around by scholars for years, with a myriad of explanations and no consensus on any. To this end, I have to find agreement with Jamieson, Fausset and Brown in their commentary:
Thayer Definition: 1) to attend to carefully, take care of
1a) to guard
1b) metaphorically to keep, one in the state in which he is
1c) to observe
1d) to reserve: to undergo something
Part of Speech: verb
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s
Number: from teros (a
watch, perhaps akin to G2334)[14]
In this same vein, Webster defines “keep”(one of many definitions in
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary) as:
KEEP, v.i. To remain in any state; as, to keep
at a distance; to keep aloft; to keep near; to keep in the house; to keep
before or behind; to keep in favor; to keep out of company, or out of reach.
1. To last; to
endure; not to perish or be impaired. Seek for winter's use apples that
will keep.
- If the malt is not
thoroughly dried, the ale it makes will not keep.
2. To lodge; to dwell; to reside for a time.
- Knock at the study,
where, they say, he keeps.
- To keep to, to adhere strictly; not to neglect or
deviate from; as, to keep to old customs; to keep to a rule; to keep to one's word or promise.
- To keep on, to go
forward; to proceed; to continue to advance.
- To keep up, to remain
unsubdued; or not to be confined to one's bed.
In popular language, this word
signifies to continue; to repeat continually; not to cease.[15]
·
“holds fast” (Rev. 3:3)
·
“keep” or “have kept” (John 15:10)
·
“observe” (Matt. 23:3)
·
“preserved” (Jude 1)…” [16]
Through these examples, we see that the idea of “keep” is to observe,
to continue, to guard and to not neglect what is written in the book. What timeless advice, for what is written is and
concerns Yeshua our Messiah. Brethren,
do you hold fast what is true? Do you
not cease in that which was given you by the Father? Do you observe what is around you, what
testifies to the greatness of our Savior?
Right here in this small salutation, such power, such glory, such
worship is released; do you see it, or do you just skim over the words, never
pausing at just what was presented to you?
Scripture should give us all pause.
O how I pray for the day that I will take it upon myself to ponder all
that Yahveh has written, to not just hurry through the words, to not just go
through the motions, but to observe,
to hold fast and keep to my heart
that which the finger of Yahveh has written.
Today, I struggle to keep out the distractions of life, to pay the
bills, to feed my family, to guard my eye and ear gates from that which is
profane, and yet I come up so short, so far away from the ideal of Messiah. I write this as a man, as my cry unto Yahveh,
for what I wish to attain to seems so far, yet He is so near. In my shortcomings, in my failures to do what
is right, in my weakness of thought and deed, He still preserves, and it is
this which gives me pause. I will
unashamedly say I weep at the thought of His faithfulness in the face of my
fecklessness[17]. It is this reason, this boundless
faithfulness that even gives me a chance to try my best to keep what I read, to
hold onto the blessing that is promised.
Brethren, my beloved, let this same unfettered faithfulness keep you,
preserve you, until the day of His return, when He shall be revealed in
completeness and glory. He is the first
and last, the alef-tav, the Alpha and
the Omega, the seven of the Father,
totality.
Who and what He is continues to be revealed in this verse, as John tells us:
4John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace to you and
peace from Him who is and
who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before
His throne, 5and from Jesus Messiah, the faithful witness, the
firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who
loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6and has made
us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7Behold,
He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced
Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
8“I am the
Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning
and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to
come, the Almighty.” [18]
To the
totality of the ekklesia John writes,
from “…Him who is and who
was and who is to come…” This phrase
is most interesting, used throughout Christianity today, and unfortunately,
misinterpreted by most. In the Greek,
the phrase is:
“…(G3801) ὁ ὢν καί ὁ ἦν καί ὁ ἐρχόμενος ho ōn kai ho ēn kai ho erchomenos ho own ho ane ho er-khom'-enos
Thayer’s Definition:
1)
He who is, and was, and is coming…” [19]
Strong gives the definition as “…he one being and the one that was and the one coming, that is, the Eternal, as a divine epithet of Messiah. (Each “and” (G2532) was omitted from the phrase because of limited space.): - which art (is, was), and (which) wast (is, was), and art (is) to come (shalt be)…” [20]
Notice that which is in the highlighted parenthesis; …shalt be… I would like to present some commentaries on this matter before I proceed:
|
יהיה |
הויה |
היה |
|
HE-WILL-BE |
BEING |
HE-WAS |
Figure 6. From the Concordant Commentary on the
New Testament, by A. E. KNOCH[24]
John 1:1 (KJV)
1In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. [25]
We also know
what he said later:
14
And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us, and we beheld his glory, glory
as of an only begotten of a father, full of grace and truth.[26]
Now we have established that He was. He was with Yahveh, and He is Yahveh. Ask the question now “How?” I have explored this in my blog series at https://www.asearchformessiah.net/2013/09/worship-and-encountering-divine-part-one.html; There is a link on each page to the next part in the series, ten parts in all. What was my conclusion at the end of those ten parts that took over three years to complete?
“…There is little sense at times
for me to try to put into my own words what others have said so succinctly;
Yeshua was begat. He had a beginning. The plan for His birth was with God from
the very beginning – hence John 1:1. With a word God created the universe –
with a word and His “hands”, God created Adam and breathed life into him. With
a word, God announced the begetting of His Son and the Spirit put life into her
womb. God the Father’s eternal plan was carried forth, came into being, and
ha’satan’s hold on humanity came to an end with the birth of the second Adam.
Upon His death and resurrection, Yeshua was exalted, and set at the right hand
of the Father, and given all authority under heaven to enact the final act –
the full redemption and restoration of Israel and the Jewish people, the
salvation of mankind and the destruction of the works of the devil and Adam’s
disobedience. Yeshua said that the Samaritan woman and her people knew not who
they worshiped. To encounter the divine is to know who it is you worship. To
worship is to know truth, to be fully persuaded, to win the battle of your
mind. Abraham believed, was fully convinced, and persuaded that what God said,
He would do. He was also fully convinced that God was God. I choose this day to
believe my Messiah – that Father Yahveh is the only TRUE God, and that this
God sent to us His Son, Yeshua the Messiah. Yeshua was born – he
pre-existed in the mind of God, and at the right time, God brought Him forth
into this world, begat Him in the womb of Miriam by His Power and Presence, the
Ruach Elohim. That is your Godhead – The Father, the Power, The Begotten Son.
Please, read all ten parts of this study – forgive me if I
have rambled, forgive me that it has taken almost two years, closer to three,
to flesh this out. I have had to pray, to wrestle with this – to “unlearn” the
entire church doctrine and return back to the word of God, to
Scripture and let His power, His Spirit show me truth. I cannot ask you to
believe what I do, for it is up to you beloved reader to be fully persuaded.
But know this – God is looking for those who worship in spirit and truth. That
means you must decide this day – follow the doctrines of men or follow the
words of God. Take all I have said back to the Scriptures – study them again
with fresh eyes and a “heart” for learning. Lean not to your own understanding
– and do not trust me! Use the reasoning God has given you to find your way –
to learn of Him and to know Him and His Son. Only truth can set us free from
the shackles of man-made traditions and interpretations. You must come to your
own conclusions so that you can enter into true worship and encounter the
divine. God would not have taken me on this three-year journey if there was not
truth behind it. Some may say I am nuts, that how can I think I know more than
the church fathers that gave us the doctrine of the Trinity? I do not know
anything, dear brethren, save what God has shown me. He has shown me that the
“fathers of the church” were flawed men, men who hated their brethren the Jews,
and God’s word says if you hate your brother, then the love of Messiah is not
in you – hence truth was not in them.
Now, we know that the Father is eternal, the same yesterday as today, never ending- which means He shall always be, not to come, but will always be. It stands to reason then, that if the Father is “He Who WAS, IS, and Will BE”, then the Son, Who WAS the WORD, was WITH Yahveh and IS Yahveh, then He SHALL BE. There is a difference in “who is to come” and “He will BE”. We must examine this in the name of Yahveh, the name He gave Himself:
Exodus 3:14 (KJV)
14
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you...The literal translation of “IAM” is “I shall Become”. One way that “IAM THAT IAM” can be literally
translated as “I am becoming Who I shall become.” Granted, the Revelation is written in Greek,
but by a Jewish Apostle who was remarkably familiar with not only the Hebrew
mindset and understanding of the eternalness of Yahveh and Messiah, but also of
the Septuagint, the Hebrew Tanakh
written in Greek. He would have used the
language of the Septuagint in his Greek writings, so as to tie the Divinity of Yahveh
with Ha’Machiach Yeshua. To be fair,
Vincent disagrees with my take of things.
In his book “New testament Word
Studies” he writes:
"...ὁ γάμος τοῦ ἀρνίου, Rev. 19:7; ἦλθεν ἡ κρίσις, Rev. 18:10. in imitation of the Hebr. הַבָּא, ὁ, ἡ, τὸ ἐρχόμενος, -ένη, -ενον, is i. q. to come, future [cf. B. and W.u. s.]: ὁ αἰών, Mk. 10:30; Lk. 18:30; ἡ ἑορτή, Acts 18:21 [Rec.]; ἡ ὀργή, 1 Th. 1:10; τὰ ἐρχόμενα, things to come, Jn. 16:13 (הַבָּאִים the times to come, Is. 27:6); in the periphrasis of the name of Jehovah, ὁ ὢν καὶ ὁ ἦν καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος, it is equiv. to ἐσόμενος, Rev. 1:4; 4:8..."
Thayer, J. H. (1889). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: being Grimm’s Wilke's Clavis Novi Testamenti (p. 251). New York: Harper & Brothers.
Who has
performed and done it, calling the generations from the
beginning? ‘I, the Lord, am the
first;
And with the last I am He.’ [31]
Micah 5:2 (1901 ASV)
But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands
of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in
Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. [32]
Hebrews 13:8 (KJV)
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. [33]
He who
WAS, IS, and SHALL BE. Yes, the Son is
returning. Yes, He will come. He WAS with Yahveh (in the beginning as the
Word, yet to be fulfilled), He IS with Yahveh (now, as the Word made flesh,
sitting at the right hand of the Father), He SHALL BE with Yahveh (As the
Branch, the One on the White Horse, coming on the clouds as the Son of Man, in
ALL authority and Power as the Risen King, to reign till all YHVH’s enemies are
under His feet). That is the
difference. That is what we miss in
translation. We know that He is the King
of Kings and Lord of Lords, yet how do we acknowledge Him? As Yahveh or as the
Mashiach, the anointed One, the One who was sent? It makes a difference in how
I approach my Savior, when I know that He is the Living Word of the Almighty Yahveh,
Holy and Pure, Righteous and Just. He is
not just to come, He is to BE, our Deliverer and the Blood-Avenger of His
people Israel, and that my beloved, is our blessed hope…
It all ties in brethren, every word, every phrase, every concrete and abstract idea with the subject at hand, the Revelation of Jesus Messiah. Beloveds hear me. This is the final book of the Word of Yahveh. Every page that has preceded this book, each word, every yod and tittle, is summed up in this book. The entire Word of Yahveh has revealed to us the Father, His begotten Son, and the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, the power and the presence of Almighty God. Here in the Apocalypse, it all comes together for the Revelation of the mystery of Jesus the Messiah. I may appear to ramble but there is so much treasure to be mined in John’s words that I loathe leaving anything out. Seven, like Who was, Who is, and Who shall be, speaks to the completeness of Yahveh’s plan, the totality of Scripture. How many seven’s?
Let us see…
“…Among every ancient people, especially in the East, a religious significance attaches to numbers. This grows out of the instinctive appreciation that number and proportion are necessary attributes of the created universe. This sentiment passes over from heathenism into the Old Testament. The number seven was regarded by the Hebrews as a sacred number, and it is throughout Scripture the covenant number, the sign of God's covenant relation to mankind, and especially to the Church. The evidence of this are met in the hallowing of the seventh day; in the accomplishment of circumcision, which is the sign of a covenant, after seven days; in the part played by the number in marriage covenants and treaties of peace. It is the number of purification and consecration (Lev_4:6, Lev_4:17; Lev_8:11, Lev_8:33; Num_19:12). “Seven is the number of every grace and benefit bestowed upon Israel; which is thus marked as flowing out of the covenant, and a consequence of it. The priests compass Jericho seven days, and on the seventh day seven times, that all Israel may know that the city is given into their hands by God, and that its conquest is a direct and immediate result of their covenant relation to Him. Naaman is to dip in Jordan seven times, that he may acknowledge the God of Israel as the author of his cure. It is the number of reward to those who are faithful in the covenant (Deu_28:7; 1Sa_2:5); of punishment to those who are froward in the covenant (Lev_26:21, Lev_26:24, Lev_26:28; Deu_28:25), or to those who injure the people in it (Gen_4:15, Gen_4:24; Exo_7:25; Psa_79:12). All the feasts are ordered by seven, or else by seven multiplied into seven, and thus made intense still. Thus, it is with the Sabbath, the Passover, the Feast of Weeks, of Tabernacles, the Sabbath-year, and the Jubilee.”
Similarly, the number appears in God's
dealing with nations outside the covenant, showing that He is working for
Israel's sake and with respect to His covenant. It is the number of the years
of plenty and of famine, in sign that these are for Israel's sake rather than
for Egypt's. Seven
times pass over Nebuchadnezzar, that he may learn that the God of his Jewish
captives is king over all the earth (partly quoted and partly condensed from
Trench's “Epistles to the Seven Churches”). Seven also occurs as a sacred number in the New Testament. There
are seven
beatitudes, seven
petitions in the Lord's Prayer; seven parables in Matthew 13; seven loaves, seven words from the cross, seven deacons, seven graces (Rom_12:6-8), seven characteristics of wisdom (Jam_3:17). In Revelation the prominence of the
number is marked. To a remarkable extent the structure of that book is molded
by the use of numbers, especially of the numbers seven, four, and three. There are seven spirits before the
throne; seven
churches; seven
golden candlesticks; seven
stars in the right hand of Him who is like unto a son of man; seven lamps of fire
burning before the throne; seven
horns and seven
eyes of the Lamb; seven
seals of the book; and the thunders, the heads of the great dragon and of the
beast from the sea, the angels with the trumpets, the plagues, and the
mountains which are the seat of the mystic Babylon, - are all seven in
number.…” [34]
59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in
Capernaum. 60 Therefore many of His
disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement;
who can listen to it?”
61 But Jesus,
conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause
you to stumble? 62 “What then if
you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? 63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits
nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 “But there are some
of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who
did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. 65 And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you,
that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” [35]
John 12:44-50 (NASB)
44 And Jesus cried out and said, “aHe who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. 45 aHe who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. 46 “aI have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness. 47 “If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for aI did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 “aHe who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; bthe word I spoke is what will judge him at cthe last day. 49 “aFor I did not speak 1on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me bhas given Me a Commandment as to what to say and what to speak. 50 “I know that aHis commandment is eternal life; therefore, the things I speak, I speak bjust as the Father has told Me.”[36]
John 14:8-10 (NASB)
8 aPhilip *said to Him, “Lord, show us the
Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus *said to him, “Have I been
so long with you, and yet you have
not come to know Me, Philip? aHe who has seen Me has seen the
Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the
Father’? 10 “Do you not believe that aI am in the Father,
and the Father is in Me? bThe words that I say to you I do not
speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.[37]
Now, do you see? Sometimes we just have to bring it into a clear focus. We must understand with our hearts what we are dealing with in this Book, get our eyes off what the fiction writers and the “prophets” and the “televangelists” say this Book is about. It is not just about the Day of the Lord, that terrible Day of Wrath… It speaks of this for sure, but what it really is about is Him, and in this salutation by John what do you see?
“…Grace to
you and peace from Him who
is and who was and who is to come [The Father], and from the
seven Spirits who are before His throne [see Isaiah 11:1,2] and from Messiah
Yeshua [The Son], the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and
the ruler over the kings of the earth…”
What is seen here is the Trisagion [Trisagion (Greek tri>sagion, thrice-holy), from tris- ("thrice") and agios ("holy"). It is pronounced "tree-sah-yon" in modern Greek. Literally, trisagion means "thrice holy"]. Thrice holy is the Godhead, thrice holy is the One True Yahveh, Thrice holy is the Son, Thrice holy is the Spirit. Around the throne the living creatures sing (Isaiah 6:3):
“… Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory…” [38]
Thrice holy. Seven and totality. Can you begin to see brethren that this book is not about how it ends, but how eternity for us begins? Seven represents ultimate power, ultimate glory, ultimate Holiness, completion of all things. It is so important to see with new eyes, for unless we do, we will miss all, we will miss the Revelation and the time of our visitation. Forgive me if I ran up and down rabbit trails, but it was to bring you to this spot, this overlook, so that you can begin to see all what is laid out ahead of us.
Look at to the “seven spirits” of Yahveh as being those mentioned in Isaiah 11:2:
And the Spirit of the Lord
will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel
and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. [39] [40]
What do we have to do to fully understand all that is
said in this first chapter? Days, weeks,
and years could be spent trying to understand every little nuance, but in
reality, what you have to understand is this: the first chapter of the
Revelation is our key to understanding the rest of it. It is in fact our glossary. Yes, that seems such a simple answer, but it
is the truth. Here in the beginning of
John’s epistle, the Lord Yeshua is laying out terms for our understanding,
terms that will help us to see what it is He is saying to us. What have we been doing? Defining terms. How have we defined them? By approaching the words in the original languages,
and by examining the type of open mindset we must have in order to see
clearly. Now, I know that this is going
to be a long study, and we have barely begun; but in this matter of seeing
clearly, we have to examine this in a bit more detail. I know it will seem like a rabbit trail, but
it truly fits in with what we are trying to do, so bear with me.
This rabbit trail though must wait till our next
post.
Till then, May God richly bless you all my beloved.
Amein.
a
Daniel 7:13
b
Zechariah 12:10–14
[1] Better: “I am the Aleph and the
Tav”, referring to the first and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
Similar to the usage of “I am the Alpha and the Omega” from the Greek.
[2]
Stern, D. H. (1998). Complete Jewish Bible: an English
version of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and B’rit Hadashah (New Testament)
(1st ed., Re). Clarksville, MD: Jewish New Testament Publications.
[3]
The preceding sections come from the Jewish Encyclopedia, A DESCRIPTIVE
RECORD OF THE HISTORY, RELIGION, LITERATURE, AND CUSTOMS OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE
FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY, COPYRIGHT © 2001 BY VARDA
BOOKS, ORIGINAL COPYRIGHT © 1901, BY FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY, vol. 9, pgs
348-349
[4] Author’s note: Because I mention
or quote from the King James Version in no way ought to be construed that I
hold it up as primacy over all other translations. It is because that from this
monumental tome that Strong developed the numbering system that defines the
majority of word-study aids we have available today. I am biased in my love of
this work, but not for its accuracy or lack thereof; no, I find the poetry appealing,
for it is reminiscent, to me, of the poetry of the original languages.
[5] The New King James Version. 1982.
Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
† [4–8] Although Revelation begins and ends (Rev
22:21) with Christian epistolary formulae, there is nothing between Rev 4; 22
resembling a letter. The author here employs the standard word order for
greetings in Greek letter writing: “N. to N., greetings...”; see the note on
Romans 1:1.
† † Seven churches in Asia: Asia refers to the
Roman province of that name in western Asia Minor (modern Turkey); these
representative churches are mentioned by name in Rev 1:11, and each is the
recipient of a message (Rev 2:1–3:22). Seven is the biblical number suggesting
fullness and completeness; thus the seer is writing for the whole church.
[6] The New American Bible : With revised New
Testament. 1986; Published in electronic form by Logos Reseaarch Systems,
1996 (electronic ed.). Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.
[7]
The
Word in LifeTM Study Bible New King James Version Copyright
1993, 1996 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
[8] Concordant Commentary on the
New Testament,
by A. E. KNOCH, © CONCORDANT PUBLISHING
CONCERN 1968,
All Rights Reserved Printed in U.S.A.
[9] The Holy
Bible : King James Version. 1995 (Electronic edition of the 1769 edition of
the 1611 Authorized Version.). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[10] Jamieson,
Fausset and Brown's Commentary on the Whole Bible: Commentary Practical and
Explanatory on the Whole Bible by David Jamieson,
Robert Fausset, A. R. Brown, , (electronic edition) e-Sword® ver. 8.04,
©(2000-2009) by Rick Meyers
[11] The
King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[12] The King James Version,
(Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[13]
Author’s Note: Though the case may be made for the saying
that seven, the sacred number, is made up of “three” and “four” as do JF&B,
this in no way means it is a proven
point. If you’ll review the number section
in this study, you’ll see where this supposition comes from, in that some
characteristics attributed to the number seven are derived from “three” and
“four”, yet the same logic tells us to see what characteristics are found in
“one”, “six”, “two” or “five”. The
mysticism that surrounds hamisparim [the numbers] especially be
ivrit [in Hebrew] has to be approached carefully, so as to avoid any
chance ofקסם qesem
keh'-sem [witchcraft]. Kabbala
is a prime example. McCormick and Strong define it as “ Kabbala” (from the Hebrews l;B;qiKabbala’
the received), properly denotes reception, then a doctrine received by oral tradition. The term is thus in itself nearly
equivalent to ““transmission,” like the Latin traditio-Massora, for which last, indeed, the Talmud makes it
interchangeable in the statement, “Moses received (lBeqæ)
the Law of Mount Sinai, and transmitted (rsim;) it
to Joshua.” The difference between it, however, and the word hr;/Smi (from rsim;, to deliver) is,
that the former expresses the act of
receiving, while the latter denotes the
act of giving over, surrendering, transmitting. The Cabala is also called
by some hr;T]s]næ
hm;k]j;, secret wisdom, because it pretends to be a very ancient and secret
tradition, and ˆ”j, grace, from the
initials of these two words.…” “…We find that in olden times secret
philosophical science and magic went hand in hand. The sorcerer mentioned in
Acts 13 was called by the Arab name of μl;y[e, the secret, i.e. learned; in Acts 19 we
read of books of magic which were at Ephesus; the sporadic mentions made of the
Cabala in the Talmud are accompanied by descriptions of miracles… It is no
wonder, then, if the Jewish cabalists of the latter part of the Middle Ages
transmitted the conception of their science to their Christian adepts, not only
as speculative (tyniWY[i), but also as
practical (tyci[}mi), i.e. in plain English, that they connected
with it the idea that a true
cabalist must at the same time be a
sorcerer… The effects hoped for or believed in magic were
accordingly transmitted outwardly through amulets, talismans, exorcisms,
images, signs, and such things, consisting of certain writings, names of
angels, or mysterious letters, whose connection, however, always leads back to
the name of God. This last, unpronounceable to the unconsecrated, but known to
the cabalist, whether it consist of four (hwhy),
twelve, or forty-two letters (numbers which result from combinations from the
Sephir system), was, as such, called μve vr;poM]hi, the declared name; and
he who knew how to use it was a μVehi l[iBi, or master of the name…”(CYCLOPEDIA
of BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL and ECCLESIASTICAL LITERATURE, by James Strong & John
McClintock: AGES Software Rio, WI USA Version 1.0 © 2000) When approaching the
use of numbers then, it is best then to let Yahveh define the meaning: since He
designated the Shabbat (the seventh day) as Holy unto Him, then we can safely
deduce that seven is the sacred number, irrespective of it’s mathematical components.
DER
[14] A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, by Joseph H. Thayer,
Copyright ©1977, Baker Book House Company
[15] Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Lanuage, ( electronic
edition of the 1828 version), e-Sword®,
ver. 9.5.1, copyright ©2000-2009 by Rick
Myers
[16] Examples taken from The Englishman’s Greek Concordance of the
New Testament, by George V. Wigram, ©2006 Hendrickson Publishers
[17]
feck·less (Pronunciation: \ˈfek-ləs\ Function: adjective
Etymology: Scots, from feck effect, majority, from Middle English
(Scots) fek, alteration of Middle English effect Date: circa
1585
1
: weak , ineffective 2
: worthless , irresponsible
—
feck·less·ly adverb
—
feck·less·ness noun (from "feckless." Merriam-Webster
Online Dictionary. 2009. Merriam-Webster Online. 18 January 2009 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feckless)
[18] The New King James Version. 1982.
Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
[19] A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, by Joseph H. Thayer,
Copyright ©1977, Baker Book House Company
[20]
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of
the Bible, by James Strong, (electronic edition) ), e-Sword®, ver. 9.5.1,
copyright ©2000-2009 by Rick Myers
[21] Commentary on the Bible, by Adam Clarke, ©1967 by World Publishers,
Grand Rapid Michigan
[22] Jamieson,
Fausset and Brown's Commentary on the Whole Bible: Commentary Practical and
Explanatory on the Whole Bible by David Jamieson,
Robert Fausset, A. R. Brown, , (electronic edition) e-Sword® ver. 8.04,
©(2000-2008) by Rick Meyers
[23] Notes on the Old and New Testament, by Albert Barnes, ©1983 by
Baker Books
[24] Concordant Commentary on the New Testament, by A. E. KNOCH, ©
CONCORDANT PUBLISHING CONCERN 1968,
All
Rights Reserved Printed in U.S.A.
[25] The Holy Bible : King James Version.
1995 (Electronic edition of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.).
Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[26] Young’s Literal Translation of the Bible, John 1:14, By Robert
Young, ©2004 by Greater Truth Publishers using the 1898 edition of YLT
[27] From the series “Worship and
Encountering the Divine”, Part Ten @ https://www.asearchformessiah.net/2016/01/at-long-last-end-of-matter-worship-and.html
[28] The Holy Bible : King James
Version. 1995 (Electronic edition of the 1769
edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research
Systems, Inc.
[29] New testament Word Studies, by Marvin Vincent, ©1886, Hendrickson
Publishers
[30]
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, by Joseph H. Thayer, from a photocopy of Thayer’s
original book,circa 1887, <greekenglishlexi00grim.pdf>,
www.librarything.com/author/thayerjoseph
[31] The New King James Version.
1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
[32] American
Standard Version. 1995 (Electronic edition.). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos
Research Systems, Inc.
[33] The Holy
Bible : King James Version. 1995 (Electronic edition of the 1769 edition of
the 1611 Authorized Version.). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[34] New testament Word Studies, by Marvin Vincent, ©1886, Hendrickson
Publishers
[35] New
American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman
Foundation.
a
Matt 10:40; John 5:24
a
John 14:9
a
John 1:4; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5; 12:35f
a
John 3:17; 8:15f
a
Luke 10:16
b
Deut 18:18f; John 5:45ff; 8:47
c
Matt 10:15; John 6:39; Acts 17:31; 1 Pet 1:5; 2 Pet 3:3, 7; Heb 10:25
a
John 3:11; 7:16; 8:26, 28, 38; 14:10, 24
1
Lit of Myself
b
John 14:31; 17:8
a
John 6:68
b
John 5:19; 8:28
[36]
New American Standard Bible: 1995 update.
(1995). (Jn 12:44–50). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
a
John 1:43
*
A star
(*) is used to mark verbs that are historical presents in the Greek which have
been translated with an English past tense in order to conform to modern usage.
The translators recognized that in some contexts the present tense seems more
unexpected and unjustified to the English reader than a past tense would have
been. But Greek authors frequently used the present tense for the sake of
heightened vividness, thereby transporting their readers in imagination to the
actual scene at the time of occurrence. However, the translators felt that it
would be wise to change these historical presents to English past tenses.
*
A star
(*) is used to mark verbs that are historical presents in the Greek which have
been translated with an English past tense in order to conform to modern usage.
The translators recognized that in some contexts the present tense seems more
unexpected and unjustified to the English reader than a past tense would have
been. But Greek authors frequently used the present tense for the sake of
heightened vividness, thereby transporting their readers in imagination to the
actual scene at the time of occurrence. However, the translators felt that it
would be wise to change these historical presents to English past tenses.
a
John 1:14; 12:45; Col 1:15; Heb 1:3
a
John 10:38; 14:11, 20
b
John 5:19; 14:24
[37]
New American Standard Bible: 1995 update.
(1995). (Jn 14:8–10). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[38] The Holy Bible : King James Version.
1995 (Electronic edition of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.).
Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[39] Holy Bible : New Living Translation.
1997, c1996 (electronic ed.). Wheaton: Tyndale House.
[40]
2. the Spirit. Heb. ruach, Ge +41:38. Is 42:1. *57:15.
59:21. *61:1. Ge 1:2. Nu 11:25, 26. Jb 26:13. Ps 51:11. 139:7. Mt 3:16. Lk 4:16-21.
Jn *1:32, 33. m3:34. Ac 6:10. 10:38. 1 Co 2:10. 12:8. Ep 1:17. Col 1:9. 2:3. Ja
3:17. rest upon. Is 61:1. Ps +*45:7.
Mt n3:16. Jn n3:34. Ac n10:38. the
spirit. Heb. ruach, Ge +41:38. of wisdom. Ex 31:2, 3. Dt 34:9. Mt
+*28:19n. Jn 14:17. 15:26. 16:13. 1 Co *1:30. Ep 1:17, 18. Col 1:8, 9. 2:2, 3.
2 Ti +*1:7. Ja 3:17, 18. (The NEW
TREASURY of SCRIPTURE KNOWLEDGE, Edited by Jerome
H. Smith, THOMAS NELSON PUBLISHERS Nashville • Atlanta • London •
Vancouver Copyright © 1992 by Jerome H.
Smith)
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